Albus Potter and the Lost Heir
by Thlayli Ra
Summary: For Albus Severus Potter, starting his first year at Hogwarts seemed like just another milestone in his life. But strange things begin to happen during Albus' first year. An unusual friendship, strange requests from his professors, and the arrival of a mysterious boy mark the beginning of a most unusual school year. Will Albus and his new friends triumph? Or will they fall?
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Thank you to my readers for the support and feedback. I have made a few changes to this new redux of my Albus Potter story, but I hope it proves to be an even better read than the original was.**

As the Hogwarts Express gathered speed, Albus Severus Potter swiftly stole out of the compartment he had been in, as quietly and as quickly as a field mouse. At the moment, his goal was to actively avoid James and his friends, not wanting to be the butt of James' jokes any longer. James was wild for thirteen and would undoubtedly want to poke fun at Albus or include him in some scheme, which would likely involve Albus getting in trouble before they ever reached the school. This saw Albus slipping down the corridor, keeping his blue eyes peeled for any sign of either James or one of his two constant companions, Freddie and Blaine.

Throughout his eleven years of life, Albus had learned that one ought to tread with caution when living with James Sirius Potter. He had once shared a bedroom with his older brother at Grimmauld Place, where their family home was located. It had been an absolute nightmare, because the Potter boys were different in an internal way. Both looked close enough to be related; James and Albus both had brown hair and blue eyes, though James' hair was far more messy than Albus' had ever been. But when compared to quiet, reserved Albus, James was something of a firecracker. Their personalities had clashed on more than one occasion. James was no bully and he had no malicious intentions, but he was always getting himself into sticky situations. Where Albus was content to read or build models, James was more commonly doing things like trying to smuggle puffskeins into the house, or managing to accidentally set the curtains on fire.

As Albus strode down the corridor of the train, he glanced into the other compartments. Other children were packed inside of them, much of them older than Albus. In a compartment on the left were some boys that looked about sixteen, having an animated discussion of some kind. In the compartment on the right, Albus saw some thirteen year old girls that were fawning over a tiny pygmy puff that was bobbing around between the two of them. Although he would have liked to walk into one of these compartments and introduce himself to the occupants, he was afraid that he might mistake some second year boys as first years by accident. James had always told Albus that older students didn't want to "babysit" little first years on the way to school, and Albus was petrified that he might accidentally put himself in this position.

Albus decided that he would walk towards the back of the train and see if he could find an empty compartment, so that another first year would have to approach him first. If another kid wanted to join him, that was great. If no one did, he was prepared. He had a trunk full of novels that he could read if he got bored. The downside of being in the back was that his cousins were probably seated closer to the front, although Louis was not among them. Louis was born on the third of September and had narrowly missed the age deadline, something he was dreadfully upset about. The usually-jovial boy had locked himself up in his bedroom at Shell Cottage and refused to accompany his siblings to see them off for the year.

Louis Weasley was Albus' age and perhaps the cousin he was closest to, out of all of the Weasley cousins. Rose was good company, but she usually preferred Dominique and Molly, both of whom didn't read comic books or throw fistfuls of snow at one another when they met on holiday. Whenever all of the Weasley children and their families gathered at the Burrow over the holiday or for a get-together, Louis was Albus' constant companion. The two cousins were the same height and roughly the same build, though Louis was slightly shorter and a bit more scrawny.

Albus sighed when he finally reached the back of the train. There wasn't a single compartment left that was empty, but one of the two at the very back had only one occupant, one that Albus recognized. It was the pale boy with the pointed face that Albus had seen on the platform, the same one that had been with the man that Albus' father had exchanged a glance with. The boy looked up at Albus, blinking before he hastened to open the compartment door.

"Hey, do you want to sit with me?" the boy asked in a sort of quiet drawl. "It's a little quiet back here. Boring, really. I could use the company."

"Alright," Albus replied back shyly. It seemed like a good opportunity to make a new friend, so he followed the boy into the compartment and chose a seat directly across from the boy, close to the window. The boy was looking him over carefully with a curious eye. His pale blond hair was slicked back like his father's, but his blue eyes seemed to radiate with a kind of warmth and curious interest.

"I'm Scorpius Malfoy," the boy introduced politely, offering his hand to Albus. "Who are you?"

"Albus Potter," Albus replied meekly, feeling a bit more comfortable as he shook Scorpius' hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Good to meet you too," Scorpius replied back cheerfully. "My father's talked about your dad. Said he's a very good man. I can't imagine it's easy to have a famous dad, is it?"

"Is that why people were staring on the platform?" Albus asked, perplexed. Scorpius looked alarmed for a moment, then shook his head.

"I suppose it's his choice whether to tell you about that stuff or not," Scorpius mumbled, though not unkindly. "I'll just say that your dad's sort of famous and you ought to try and find a book on him once we get to school. There's bound to be loads of books featuring him in the library, I heard the library at Hogwarts is huge. Don't press me for any more information about him, alright? I don't want your dad coming after me if he didn't want you to know that he's famous."

"Your dad was getting stared at a bit too," Albus remarked after thinking Scorpius' words over. "Is he also famous?"

"No, not exactly, not at all," Scorpius admitted awkwardly, flushing. "A-anyhow, do you collect chocolate frog cards? There's supposed to be a trolley on the train that we can buy sweets from, so I was hoping that I'd be able to add a few new cards to my collection."

Scorpius shrugged off his black sweater and picked up a card carrier that had been resting on the seat beside him. His touch was gentle as he held the carrier and began to leaf through the pages. Albus looked on in admiration at the card collection that was housed within the carrier. The cards inside had no stains or bends in them and looked as though they were all still in perfect, mint condition. Scorpius continued to sift through the pages absentmindedly before looking up and giving Albus a smile.

"Yeah, I collect," Albus replied happily as he reached for his own collection; Uncle Ron had told him about the sweets trolley, so he had brought his cards on the train with him. Albus' collection wasn't anywhere near as pristine as Scorpius' was. Some of Albus' cards had been previously owned by James, who had only been interested in cards for a while and who had not particularly taken care of them.

"Cool," Scorpius replied, a smile on his face. "That's not too bad of a deck you've got. I'm going to guess that some of the ones that are worse for wear used to be your older brother's? He was on the platform with you."

"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Albus asked, a little taken aback.

"It's how older brothers are," Scorpius replied in an offhand manner. "They always give you their sloppy seconds of everything. I wouldn't really know - I'm an only child. But we have had dinner guests with kids my age, and they had older brothers. I learned about older brothers from them."

"They're not wrong," Albus sighed, staring down at the red t-shirt that he had worn under his black and blue striped shirt. The t-shirt was a bit big on him; even though it belonged to James, who was never big for his age, Albus was even smaller than James had been.

"You're lucky," Scorpius sighed as he peered out the window, a thoughtful look on his face as the train cruised through London. "A brother _and_ a sister! I sort of wish that my parents would get me a little sister, but I don't know if my parents want another child."

"Enjoy being an only child while you can," Albus joked. "They might surprise you yet."

"I doubt it," Scorpius replied back with only a slight frown and a furrowing of his brow. "I think if they had planned on having two kids, I'd have a brother or sister already. It seems a bit late now."

Before Albus could formulate a response, the compartment door slid open. A jovial old man in a forest-green vest stood there, clasping the handle of a trolley that was stacked to the brim with sweets. His trolley faced the front of the train and Albus realized that their compartment must be one of his first stops.

"Any sweets for you laddies?" the old man asked in a jolly sort of voice. He fixed the boys with a kind smile, a cheery twinkle in his pale blue eyes.

"Yeah, of course!" Scorpius chirped brightly, reaching into the pockets of his jeans. Albus rummaged through his own pockets, managing to collect a small pile of coins. The two of them browsed through the contents of the trolley a moment later, admiring the selection of sweets. The old man had just about every candy that Albus could have hoped for. The two boys made a few trips back and forth, filling the empty places in their compartment with sweets, at the expense of their now-empty pockets. They thanked the old man during their last trip, carrying several bottles of icy-cold pumpkin juice back into their compartment.

"This is what I'm talking about!" Scorpius exclaimed as he popped open a bottle of pumpkin juice. "A long train ride ahead, a compartment full of sweets, and a treasure trove of chocolate frog boxes waiting to be opened."

"What's your favorite sweet?" Albus asked before biting into the soft gelatin of a jelly slug, ripping a chunk of it off. With his free hand, he sifted through the sweets once more before finding a chocolate frog box, placing it down in his lap as Scorpius dug through the goodies.

"Fizzing Whizbees, for sure," Scorpius answered happily. "Say, if you get Salazar Slytherin, let me know. I've been looking all over for him, but no one seems to be willing to trade him off. I don't suppose you have a spare?"

"I don't," Albus replied as Scorpius sighed. "But I'll trade mine off for something good enough. Have you got Morgan le Fay or Queen Maeve? Those two are high on my list. I'll give you Slytherin for one of them."

"You really have one?" Scorpius gasped as Albus nodded. "Will you er...will you part with him for Andros the Invincible? Cliodna? Paracelsus?"

"I have all of those," Albus fired back, his smile becoming a touch mischievous. "Morgan or Maeve, that's all I want."

"Oh come on, Albus," Scorpius groaned, narrowing his eyes at Albus. "I've only got one of Morgan. Besides, your Salazar card's probably all bent and worn down."

"You sure about that?" Albus teased as he pulled out his Salazar Slytherin card from his deck. It was one of his crisp new cards that he had gotten about a month ago when he had spent his allowance on a bundle of chocolate frog boxes.

"Not a hand-me-down, is it?" Scorpius replied mournfully, looking hesitant.

"I'll take Morgan, or you can say goodbye to Salazar right now," Albus taunted in a singsong voice. "Who knows, maybe someone up at the school has Morgan and will be willing to trade her for this?"

"Oh fine," Scorpius mumbled in a low voice. "I'm willing to bet you're a Slytherin, with a way about you like that. I'll give you Morgan, just hand Slytherin over."

Albus was so delighted by his victory that he almost ignored what Scorpius had said, but he could almost hear James' voice in his head, taunting him about how he was going to be the very first Potter sorted into Slytherin. Scorpius must have noticed the look on Albus face, for he stopped smiling and closely studied Albus' expression with an apprehensive look.

"What? Is it something I said?" he asked through a mouthful of Fizzing Whizbees as he tucked the Slytherin card away. "C'mon Albus, you can tell me."

"It's just that my older brother was teasing me about being in Slytherin," Albus admitted, stashing his new Morgan away with his other cards. "He knows I'm scared of ending up there. He's Gryffindor and I'm nothing like him, so he might be right."

"Scared?" Scorpius retorted, sounding a bit offended. "So what if you're a Slytherin? Slytherin's an amazing house! My mum and dad were both in Slytherin and I want to be a Slytherin too! Do your mum and dad care what house you end up in?"

"No," Albus admitted sheepishly, remembering the discussion on the platform with his father. "They've told me that they don't care, but what if they really do? What if they're just saying that they don't mind because they don't want me to feel bad about it?"

"Rubbish," Scorpius fired back. "Your parents don't look like that sort. Anyhow, what's wrong with being a Slytherin? There's lots to like about being a Slytherin, like the colors. Green is easily one of the best colors there is, and it is unstoppable when paired with silver. I'm not trying to discriminate here, but red and gold sounds like an ugly pair of colors to wear."

Albus smiled a little bit.

"See, you agree." Scorpius pointed out, beaming. "And what's more, Slytherins have got some of the best traits. We're like a little combination of all of the other houses, only more cool. We're as brave as any old Gryffindor, we're just not as stupid and reckless. And everyone goes on about Hufflepuff's loyalty, right? We're loyal too, but without being absolute pillows about it. As for wise old Ravenclaw, well we're just as intelligent. We're just not as stuffy as they are. Think about it Albus, there's a lot to love about Slytherin."

"Well, what about the animal?" Albus retorted.

"Snakes are cool!' Scorpius fired back fervently. "There's a variety of them, too. There are huge man-eaters that can swallow you just as easily as a frog can swallow a fly! There are constrictors that could crush the life out of you! Even some of the smallest snakes are venomous, too. The other animals might be cool, but our house's animal is deadly in more than one variety, see?"

"I guess so," Albus laughed. "I just d-"

Before Albus could finish, there was a resounding thud in the corridor just outside of their compartment. Albus nearly jumped in his seat, while Scorpius stood to peer out the window panes of their compartment. A moment later, he slid the door of their compartment open to see what the commotion was. On the floor of the corridor lay a rather small boy that was panting rather hard. He climbed to his feet and gave the opposite end of the corridor a fearful gaze before turning to Albus and Scorpius.

"Can I come in?" the boy gasped in a voice that was higher than Albus' own, clutching a stitch in his side. "Please, I've got nowhere to go and the other boys are still looking for me."

"What other boys?" Albus queried, frowning. He waved for the small kid to join them, keeping an eye out for the smaller boy as Scorpius glared down the far side of the corridor, as though waiting for the other boys to show up. As the boy sheepishly joined them inside of their compartment, Albus understood why the boy seemed so helpless. He was very scrawny and much shorter than either of them, with light brown hair that was styled down neatly in a way that might be more common on a boy from the fifties, rather than modern day. He was dressed strangely for a boy their age too, wearing crisp black slacks, a spotless and well-ironed dress shirt, and a sweater-vest. His shirt was tucked neatly into his slacks and he seemed to have a scrupulously neat look to him.

"Some bigger boys were pushing me around a bit," the boy admitted, turning red as he sat down in a gap between the sweets. "They wouldn't let me get up. A prefect came to stop them, but they found me again and cornered me when the prefect had left."

"They sound like gits," Scorpius assured him vehemently. "Hopefully they won't come looking for you anymore. If they do, they must be desperate to look tough on their first day of school. I hate those types, always putting other people down to feel better about themselves."

"Here, have a pasty," Albus insisted, gesturing towards their pile of goodies. The small boy gave them both an incredulous look before grinning, delicately picking up a pumpkin pasty. Scorpius offered the small boy a bottle of pumpkin juice and the three of them gazed out the window as the locomotive smoothly coasted through the countryside.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you," the small boy said, giving them both a grateful look after taking a swig of his pumpkin juice. "You two are really cool, not like those other kids. Who are you both?"

"I'm Albus," Albus replied brightly, offering his hand for a handshake.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius drawled through a mouthful of chocolate frog, inspecting a Glanmore Peakes card. "Welcome to the dream team."

"I'm Ben," the small boy chirped, shaking Albus' hand, then Scorpius' before smiling at them both. "It's short for Benjamin, but I like Ben better. My parents will _only_ call me Benjamin and I hate it."

"Nice to meet you, Ben," Albus replied cheerfully as Scorpius sifted through his chocolate frog cards, admiring his recent acquisitions.

"Likewise," Ben replied, eyeing Scorpius' cards with a slight frown. "What are those cards you've got there? I've never seen them before."

"They're Famous Witches and Wizards cards," Scorpius explained affably, showing Ben his newest cards with a knowing look. "Of course, you've got things like dragons and goblins as well, it's not all witches and wizards. You collect them and try to get a complete deck."

"Wow!" Ben cried, admiring Scorpius' deck with a twinkle in his eyes. "How do I start collecting them?"

"You get them from these," Albus replied, tossing the boy a chocolate frog box. "There's a card in every box of chocolate frog. I'll even give you a few of my spares to start you out."

"Thanks," Ben squeaked as he pried the box open, eyes widening when the chocolate frog bounced out of the box. Scorpius deftly caught the frog with one hand, turning it over to Ben. The magic that had animated the frog-shaped chocolate had run out, and it lay perfectly still in his pale hand.

"Muggle-born, right?" Scorpius queried as he looked Ben over, handing him the chocolate frog.

"Yeah," Ben replied glumly. "My folks almost didn't let me go to Hogwarts. I only got to come here because the school said that it's my choice that counts, and they made my mum and dad let me come. You see, they're the overprotective sort. My mum even walked onto the train with me to find me a seat."

As Ben looked away uncomfortably, Albus noticed that his cheeks were burning with humiliation. He felt sorry for the smaller boy; he would have been mortified if his own mother had walked him onto the train to find a seat.

"You've really got it bad," Scorpius remarked apologetically before his expression brightened. "Say, you've got Merlin! That's a really good card!"

As the train smoothly coasted along the tracks that led into Scotland, the three boys busied themselves with their chocolate frog cards. As promised, Albus forked over some of his spares to Ben, who had also been given a handful of new additions by Scorpius. By the time the sun had become little more than a blazing fireball that hung just over the horizon, Ben had sampled a number of wizarding candies and was sitting through an explanation of what Quidditch was, courtesy of Scorpius. The three boys had already donned their school uniforms by the time other kids were shuffling down the corridor to collect a change of clothes. As the sky continued to darken, the air inside of the train filled with mingled dread and anticipation, excitement and fear taking hold of the riders. All three boys almost jumped out of their seats when the speakers crackled.

"We'll be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes' time!" the voice echoed through the compartment as Albus turned to Scorpius, offering him a timid smile. "Please leave all pets and luggage on the train. It will be taken up to the school separately and placed in your dormitories. If you have any valuables or other items, please place them in your trunks. Hogwarts personnel are not responsible for lost or stolen items."

Albus glanced out the window idly. The sun had set completely some twenty minutes ago or so, leaving the sky an indigo canvas that was slowly being pockmarked by dozens of stars. The throng outside of their compartment had grown to a considerable swell of students that filled their section of the train, all vying for a place in line so they could hastily stow away any belongings, say farewell to pets, or quickly exchange their clothes. Albus and the other two boys in his compartment had been smart in changing and stowing their items away earlier, leaving them free of the mass of students in the corridor. Their pockets were empty of all cards, which had been safely stowed in a secure place in their trunks. Between the three of them, they left only a few candies to line the insides of their pockets as they waited for the moment the Hogwarts Express arrived.

The train began to slow considerably by the time the throng in the corridor had cleared up, with only an occasional robed child venturing to the back of the train to make hasty deposits into their trunks. Albus made a quick trip to the back to ensure that his ferret had enough food and water to tide him over before returning to his compartment, where Ben reclined in the seat with a nervous expression while Scorpius was pressed to the window, searching for any sign of the station they would soon be pulling into.

A full three minutes passed as the three boys remained in position. Ben gave Albus a small and rather nervous smile that Albus returned to the best of his ability, while Scorpius suddenly stood and turned to them, his blue eyes wide with delight.

"We've arrived," he gasped breathlessly, one pale hand still plastered to the window as the train ground to a halt. "We're here."


	2. Chapter 2

The Hogwarts Express smoothly pulled into Hogsmeade Station, looking like a long scarlet snake that was billowing smoke as it returned to a safe den for the night. It came to a complete and perfect stop as it had for over a hundred years; routine was a strong enough magic to keep the locomotive moving in perfect harmony. Not a note was missed as the doors to the train swung open on time, prefects almost riding the doors out onto the platform as they escorted and helped their fellow students out of the train. As always, seasoned gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid was eagerly awaiting the year's newest set of eleven year olds, a fiery lantern bobbing over the heads of the disembarking children.

Scorpius was the first of the three boys from Albus' compartment to step onto the platform, blinking in wonder as he surveyed the dark platform. The air on this particular night was cool and chilly, with stray gusts of wind that would pass over the platform and cause bouts of shivering among the students. Albus and Ben were hot on Scorpius' heels as they stumbled onto the platform, almost lost in a sea of black-robed children as they headed towards the bright beacon of light that hovered over the silhouette of Rubeus Hagrid.

"Good thing the uniforms have layers," Scorpius pointed out as another breeze passed over the platform, drawing his robes more tightly around him. "I bet the winter cloaks are even warmer, but I doubt they'd approve if we wore them tonight. They'd want everyone to look very uniform for the sorting."

Albus and Scorpius felt very out of place in their new uniforms, but Ben wore his own rather comfortably. He was used to dressing nicely, for his parents were a rather fussy pair that believed that children should not be exempt from being well-dressed at all times. While other children seemed uncomfortable in their crisp new school shirts and slacks, fumbling with their ties and vests, Ben felt completely at ease. The school uniform was of similar constitution to many articles of clothing that he wore at home.

"Hey Jamison, I found the sissy!" a singsong voice cried from their right, filling Ben's torso with dread. There were a few giggles as Albus and Scorpius noticed a group of three boys that were quickly approaching them.

"Oh god, it's them," Ben groaned as the boys began to size Albus and Scorpius up.

The boy on the left was the biggest, with a hulking and bulky build for a boy of eleven. His face was a contorted, scowling mask as he glared down at Albus. Albus' mother had always told him not to assume things of other people, but this boy seemed brutish. The boy on the right was a far cry from the brutish type; he was the small and slender, with a freckled face that wore a malicious smile. The boy in the middle seemed to be the ringleader, a boy with curly brown hair and a smile that seemed a bit too smug.

"Hey sissy, didya make some friends?" the curly-haired boy asked brightly, smiling. If he were not taunting Ben, his smile would have been almost charming. The freckled boy sniggered as the big blond one smirked.

"Shove off," Albus cut in, feeling braver than he truly was. Albus usually wasn't the type to get involved in a scuffle, but he liked Ben and had a very low opinion on the sort of boys that would gang up on and tease a boy that was much smaller than they were.

"Sissy's got himself a boyfriend," the freckle-faced kid crowed as the other two boys began to laugh. Ben lowered his head, embarrassed and defeated. Albus had a fleeting thought that Ben was probably used to boys - to bullies - like these three. Scorpius was undeterred by the three of them and he stepped forward, glaring at the curly-haired boy. The big blond scowled at him and stepped forward to meet the apparent challenge he was posing.

"Leave us alone," Scorpius growled as he glared back at the big blond kid. "Ben didn't do anything to you. Just shove off and leave us."

"Who's going to make us?" the curly-haired boy in the middle challenged. "Are you going to fight us?"

"Four to three would make for a bad fight," a voice near them said, one that had a slight accent. Albus swiveled around and saw a rather tall boy that wore an annoyed look on his face. He had honey-brown hair that was windswept and wavy, a cautious look in his blue-green eyes as he surveyed the bullies that stood before them.

"Keep out of it, kangaroo," the blond kid snarled angrily, but he shied away when the Australian boy took another step forward. The curly-haired boy gave them a final glare before he and his two friends backed off, slinking into the shadows as Albus and Scorpius turned to regard their defender. The boy gave them a slightly haphazard and crooked grin.

"Thanks for that one, mate," Scorpius replied cheerfully as the four boys joined the throng of children that followed Hagrid off of the platform, their faces lit by the yellowing light of the lantern. "Those kids were asking for trouble. Who needs two buddies beside him to pick on a littler kid? No offense, Ben."

"None taken," Ben replied back, his voice a relieved sigh.

"Gits," the Australian boy added brightly as they fell in line behind Hagrid. This new boy was easily the tallest of the first years and to Albus, he looked the most wild. There was something about his messy hair, crooked grin, and the merry twinkle in his eyes that seemed to suggest a certain adventurous air about the boy, as well as a sort of lawlessness.

"What's your name?" Albus asked him as Hagrid led them down a path through the darkened forestry. Ben moved closer to the center of the group, his wide hazel eyes darting around the dark woods with a kind of paranoid trepidation.

"Call me Ham," the boy replied jovially, wearing a good-natured grin. "My name proper's Hamlin Brutus, but I like Ham better. It's what my old man's always called me, but you know how mums are about these things. _'You're Hamlin, not ham. Ham is what they call the meat of a pig. Are you a pig?'_ and that kind of stuff."

"What brings you to Hogwarts?" Scorpius asked, incredulous and slightly suspicious at the same time. "Wouldn't you go to some Australian school of magic? I know they've got magical schools in Australia, plus Mahoutokoro is a lot closer to your edge of the world than Hogwarts."

"I got drawn for the transfer year," Ham replied brightly. "My mum n' dad were always big-time supporters of Dumbledore, so they just about shouted the roof down when my name was drawn, Hogwarts being the host school this time around and all. My older brother's stayed behind to keep after our land, but mum and dad have got a temporary flat in England while I'm going to school here. We might go back home for summer holiday."

"I've heard of that program," Albus replied quickly, recalling Rose mentioning it when she went through the Hogwarts pamphlet from cover to cover. "The program only happens every so often, five years or something similar. Kids from other countries get the opportunity to attend whichever major magical school is hosting, while a few of the kids from the host school trade places with them."

"Yeah, that's it," Ham confirmed, still grinning as they trudged through the dark forest, barely illuminated by the warm glow of Hagrid's lantern. "I put my name in for the drawing and out of all the Aussie kids, I got chosen."

"Don't mean ter alarm you all," Hagrid boomed in a gruff but friendly voice. "But jus' around this bend and yeh'll get ter see the castle."

There was a clamor of cries and whispers alike as the castle finally came into view. For many of the new arrivals at Hogwarts, the school had been little more than a hushed fairy tale that parents and siblings had spoken of, but had never shown them. Viewing it was enough to set the imagination alight with the possibilities and promise that the school year held for each of them.

The actual school was a castle that was perched on a mountain that seemed to be miles away from them, looking rather like a large dragon crouched over a massive black lake. The dark lake was illuminated solely by the reflection of lights from the castle and the star-speckled sky above. Each turret and tower on the grandiose old fortress was lit up like beacons, almost seeming to warmly invite them over.

The first years were immediately directed to a small fleet of boats that were moored nearby. As the children scrabbled around for a place in one of the vessels, Scorpius hopped into the front of one boat and Ben hastened to follow him inside of it. Albus and Ham climbed in behind them, the former drawing his breath in carefully as he stared at the school, awestruck. His parents and James had done a decent job of describing it, but their descriptions were nowhere close to the majesty and wonder he felt as he gazed up at his new home away from home.

After Hagrid had directed the last few stragglers into boats and entered his own, the boats began to gracefully glide across the lake, drawn to the castle at the other end of the lake as though being pulled by a rather large magnet. As Albus gaped up at the castle, he was shaken out of his reverie when he heard someone calling his name, almost unable to detect where the voice had come from.

"Over here, Albus!" the voice echoed from nearby and he turned to hail it. There was a red-haired girl waving merrily at him and it took him a few seconds to realize it was Rose. She sat in a boat with three other girls, all of whom seemed cheerful. Albus waved back and saw Rose turn to talk to a girl beside her, a dark-haired girl that Albus didn't quite recognize.

"My cousin," Albus explained to his boatmates as they peered curiously at the other boat. Ben gasped audibly as he looked up at the castle with a bewildered expression, as though he had never seen a castle in the flesh before. His hazel eyes could have been black as they remained fixed on the castle ahead, wide with a mixture of both fascination and fright.

"She looks very nice," Scorpius replied politely as they watched Rose's boat for a moment. "Can you believe we're finally here? We're going to be sorted very soon now, won't that be interesting? I'm still hoping to make Slytherin..."

"Sorted?" Ben asked as he whirled around to face them, looking puzzled now. "Sorted for what? By alphabet? What do you mean?"

"Sorted into a house," Albus explained calmly. "There are four houses at the school that they'll split us into, based on what we're like. Gryffindor for the brave, Hufflepuff for the kind, Ravenclaw for the wise, and Slytherin for the ambitious. That's sort of the basic version of it, but it'll be a lot more intense when it's actually time to be sorted."

"I hope I get into a good house," Ben said in a small, anxious voice as Albus glanced up at the school and couldn't help but feel the contagion of Ben's uneasiness. James' taunts were echoing through his mind and he could hear each dirty accusation; about how he, Albus, would be the first Potter to be sorted into Slytherin. Was Albus afraid of being a Slytherin? Well, he was not as afraid of it as he had been earlier in the morning, but he was definitely apprehensive about it. He knew that he would never hear the end of James' ribbing.

"Heads down!" Hagrid boomed, his voice carrying across the lake. All of them obeyed and bent low in their boats as they passed under a curtain of ivy. The boats turned into a watery tunnel of sorts that let out a mournful and hollow howl when the wind passed through it. Albus could see Ben in front of him, pulling his robes more tightly around his small frame, a single shudder taking hold over his small and slender body. Their breath went from being near invisible to a fine fog that surrounded their mouths as they whispered.

"Here we go," Hagrid announced as the watery tunnel fed into an underground harbour. "Watch yer step, we don't need any of you fallin' in the lake tonight. It's much too cold fer that."

Albus had to help Ben out of the boat, as the small boy was almost petrified with fear at the thought of falling into the lake. Scorpius let out a rather appreciative whistle as Hagrid introduced them to a staircase that led up into an elaborate tunnel system. A hollow sound echoed through the tunnels, frightening Ben even further as the boys followed the crowd up to the ground level. They soon found themselves breaking surface and striding down a path that was flanked on either side by the sweeping (and foggy) lawns of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a colossal sentinel of a school that now loomed ominously in the foreground.

Hagrid brought them up to a pair of great oak doors that were larger than any doors that Albus had ever seen. Now that they stood beside the castle, it was hard not to feel incredibly small by comparison. The castle was so huge and grandiose that a wave of slight dizziness passed over Albus, who half wanted to sit in the sweeping emerald grass as Hagrid gave the doors three heavy, booming knocks.

The doors swung open so quickly that Albus could almost hear Hagrid's knock still echoing in the room beyond. A witch stood in the doorway, smiling at the new arrivals with a kind of careful formality about her. She looked to be in her thirties, with jet-black hair and pale skin. Her lips looked red until her cheeks flushed with color during another gust of wind, and Albus noticed that she wore robes of deep purple. She seemed to be examining each of the new students with great care.

"A little shaky, but no worse for wear," Hagrid chortled amiably to her. "Good luck with 'em."

"Thank you, Hagrid," the young witch replied brightly, flashing him a smile before she turned to the first years. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor Avera Lockett, the Head of Ravenclaw and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. Please follow me, we have some things to go over before we start the Sorting Ceremony."

They followed her into the entrance hall, which had to be one of the largest rooms that Albus had ever walked into. It was almost like a grand old cathedral, with a high roof and an ancient air to it. The flagged-stone floor sparkled as though it had been installed just yesterday, while a pearly marble staircase on one side of the room looked as though it had also been recently polished up for the occasion. As they walked into the hall, Albus noticed four hourglasses that were empty at the bottom, though the tops were full of priceless gems. One hourglass held sapphires, one held rubies, one held emeralds, and the fourth held diamonds with a slight yellow tint to them.

They passed into a small chamber that Professor Lockett led them to, obeying when she gesticulated for them to enter the chamber. As the throng of forty-something children assembled in the room, all of them turned back to the doorway to face Professor Lockett.

"How many of you are nervous?" Professor Lockett quizzed once they were all inside of the chamber, her eyes sharply examining each of them. Ben and two other children raised their hands, and Albus was surprised to see Ham raise his hand as well. "Be truthful, I am experienced enough to know how to tell when each of you are lying. Who is nervous?"

Almost all of them raised their hands the second time around, Albus and Scorpius included. Professor Lockett seemed pleased by the increase and gave them all a reassuring smile as her eyes traveled around the room.

"Thank you, I assure you that it is perfectly normal to feel nervous about the Sorting Ceremony here at Hogwarts," Professor Lockett explained. "Now I will tell you about the history of our school. Hogwarts was founded around 990 A.D. by the four founders, a group of two men and two women that created a place of learning for wizarding children. Does anyone know the names of our founders?"

Several hands shot up around the room, but Rose's was the first, so Professor Lockett called on her.

"Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin," Rose answered, all in one breath as her cheeks turned bright pink. Professor Lockett beamed at her brightly and Rose smiled in response, her face going a bit more rosy.

"Correct," Professor Lockett replied. "This school has educated many powerful witches and wizards. Merlin once attended school here, as did Albus Dumbledore. There were also great families educated here, some of whom took part in the Second Wizarding War, such as the Weasleys, Longbottoms, Creeveys, and Macmillans."

Some of the other students risked glances at Rose, who was a dead give-away as a Weasley with her red hair, pale skin, and freckles. Rose went red as some of the kids glanced at Albus, seeing something of a resemblance in him.

"The names of our four prestigious houses come from the founders," Professor Lockett explained. "The traits that define the students of these houses were chosen by the founders, who based the sorting of students on the personality traits that they felt their house should embody the most. I am well aware that the houses have been given unfair reputations, based on prior events in our wizarding world, as well as common stereotypes. Make no mistake of stereotyping your peers based on what house they are placed in. The stereotypes never reflect on the entirety of the house."

Rose caught Albus' eye in the middle of this speech and she gave him a somewhat knowing look.

"For example, not all Ravenclaws are prodigious and well-informed in every area of knowledge," Professor Lockett countered. "I have met many that are only knowledgeable in one particular field. Hufflepuff is not the 'bottom house' or the place for the unaccomplished; our wizarding world has had its fair share of notable Hufflepuffs, who are placed into their house for being loyal, kind, and fiercely protective of loved ones. Not all Gryffindors are upstanding heroes and they are not all arrogant either; likewise, all Slytherins are not evil and they are not selfish. Dark times and tension come from these false perceptions."

While Professor Lockett briefly went over the points system, Albus turned to Scorpius. He wore a somewhat curious look as his eyes met Albus', perhaps in light of the speech that Professor Lockett had just treated them to. It seemed that the staff of Hogwarts wanted the student body to be aware of the falsehoods and discriminations that houses seemed to have held against one another in the past. Albus felt that it was a strange topic to cover on their first night of school, but it certainly seemed to have put a lot of them at ease.

"I will return for you in a few minutes," Professor Lockett warned. "I will not be tolerating any sort of squabbling or excessive noise while you wait in this chamber, nor will I accept it as we walk from the chamber to the front of the Great Hall. Our headmaster is not prone to accepting foolishness and neither am I. The Sorting Ceremony is an immensely important tradition here at Hogwarts, so all of you are expected to mind your manners and be on your very best behavior for the occasion. Anyone that tries to disrupt this event in any way, shape, or form will be dealt with harshly."

"They're pretty serious about keeping with tradition, aren't they?" Scorpius asked in a low voice once Professor Lockett had left them, almost as though afraid that she would hear him. He was presently fiddling with his tie, trying to loosen it up a bit.

"Definitely," Albus agreed as the two boys peered around at their fellow classmates. Albus could see that Rose was talking in a hushed voice to a pair of identical girls. Professor Lockett's warnings had been effective; the room was full of low, quiet voices. It was clear that the students here were afraid of being the unfortunate sort of child that would get into trouble on their very first day at Hogwarts.

Only three minutes had passed once Professor Lockett returned, though the room became deadly quiet almost at once. She smiled at all of them as she announced that the students and faculty in the Great Hall were ready to receive them. However, she did not allow them to leave the room with her until they were well-tended to. She gave them a moment to smarten themselves up before having them get into two perfect double-file lines, with the girls in one line and the boys in another. Albus fell into place beside one of the identical twin girls that Rose had been talking to as they set off towards another set of double doors, which swung wide open once they arrived.

The Great Hall was the most wondrous dining area that Albus had ever looked into. It was awash in light and sound, most of the light coming from the dozens of candles that hung in the air. Albus inspected the candles and noticed that not a single one of them had dripped hot wax onto the students that sat below them, though he almost gasped when he looked up and saw the same indigo sky that he had seen back out onto the lake, complete with thousands of resplendent pinpricks of light. The Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables were on one side of him, while Hufflepuff and Gryffindor sat on the other side of the hall. There were curious faces throughout the hall that peered at the new students, carefully examining each of their faces as though you could tell if someone was a Hufflepuff or not, just by looking at them. Albus noticed James at the Gryffindor table with his friends, wearing a jackal grin as he spotted Albus in the crowd. He pointed Albus out to Freddie and Blaine, laughing.

Albus knew Freddie, for he was their cousin through Uncle George and Aunt Angelina. He was an attractive boy for thirteen, with light brown skin and dark hair that curled. Blaine was not related to them at all, but had become a best friend to James and Freddie on their first day of school. The blond boy had been part of some incident on the train with James and Freddie that had gotten the three boys into terrible trouble. The school had sent letters out to their parents that very night, and Albus and James' mum had been swift in sending a fresh howler over to the school in the morning after profusely apologizing to the headmaster in a letter.

Freddie wore an amiable grin as he spotted Albus, while Blaine was examining the other first years with mild interest. Perhaps Professor Lockett's speech had put fear in them, but the first years were going to great pains to keep their two lines flowing neatly down the center of the hall, just as she had instructed them to. They walked with a kind of diligent discipline, all the way up until they reached the front of the hall. Once they had reached the front, Professor Lockett motioned for them to spread out a bit in the front.

Another professor gingerly brought out a stool that had an old hat sitting upon it. Albus looked expectantly at the hat, while Ben was gasping anxiously beside him. The brim of the hat opened up like a mouth, much to their surprise, and the hat began to sing:

 _"While I may look old and worn,_

 _New first years, you will learn_

 _How a hat so seemingly forlorn_

 _Can place you in the house you yearn,_

 _It started with the friends four,_

 _The founders known by all,_

 _And how they settled on houses_

 _Before their untimely fall,_

 _Those who were brave and bold_

 _Were the best that Gryffindor saw,_

 _But students who valued knowledge_

 _Were favored by Ravenclaw,_

 _Those who were ambitious and cunning_

 _Were highly prized by Slytherin,_

 _While those kind and hardworking_

 _Were known as Hufflepuff's kin,_

 _The four existed in peace and harmony_

 _Until one fateful day_

 _Where sly old Slytherin posed a thought:_

 _To cast those born to Muggles away_

 _Regardless of their ability_

 _Or their magical skill_

 _Slytherin felt these students_

 _Would drive Hogwarts downhill,_

 _The other three strongly disagreed,_

 _And a battle then took place,_

 _Between Godric and Salazar,_

 _With the latter leaving in disgrace,_

 _All four houses still stand today_

 _After a fire-forget test_

 _Where the dark lord and his accomplices_

 _Caused quite a bit of unrest,_

 _The four houses stand, strong and proud_

 _As the school year begins anew,_

 _So, to the little first years I ask_

 _Which house will be the one for you?"_

The entirety of the Great Hall burst into applause when the hat finished its song. The hat then gave a funny sort of bowing motion to each of the houses in turn as Professor Lockett watched from nearby, smiling coolly. Once they all quieted down, she flicked her wand and a roll of parchment levitated beside her, unrolling completely as she walked over to stand beside the stool.

"When I call your name, come up to the stool and sit upon it," Professor Lockett explained to the unusually quiet first years. "The Sorting Hat will be placed upon your head and you will be sorted into your houses. As we are also in a transfer year, I may additionally inform you all of where some of our new students are from. I'm certain that you will all find it fascinating, just how far some families are willing to travel for a Hogwarts education."

It was the moment of truth for Albus, who had waited several long hours for the beginning of the sorting. His chest constricted with both dread and joy, as though someone had inflated a balloon inside of his torso. At last, he would finally discover which house he belonged in...

"This year, we have been blessed with two transfer students from the United States," Professor Lockett explained, smiling at the first years. "Our first is from Hawaii. Aalona, Leah!"


	3. Chapter 3

The entire Great Hall was veiled in an almost eager silence as Leah Aalona was the first among the eleven year olds to approach the stool at the front of the room. Perhaps because she was the first in this crucial ceremony, everyone craned to get a good look at her as she walked. She had straight brown hair that flowed down her back and golden-brown eyes. Albus privately thought she was quite pretty, even though he had yet to develop a sincere interest in girls. Leah walked up to the stool with an air of confidence about her, a sureness in her step that almost put the rest of the first years at ease. Perhaps her confidence _was_ contagious to some degree, for the Sorting Hat had very little to do with her before it gave her a house.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The pregnant silence developed into a din of warm applause and a medley of cheers as Leah Aalona skipped down to the Hufflepuff table, where most of the sound erupted from. Albus peered around the hall for a moment, in awe of the applause that seemed to reverberate around the hall, but when his eyes wandered back over to Leah, he could see that she was having no trouble at all with her new house. A group of girls greeted her warmly as Professor Lockett cleared her throat, cloaking the hall in silence once more.

"Next is Acosto-Velez, Enrique!" Professor Lockett announced, offering a small smile. "He has come all the way from Ponce, Puerto Rico."

Enrique was one of the taller boys, though he was nowhere near Ham's height. His dark brown hair was wavy and had been styled neatly, the sort of way that a boy might style his hair if he was expected at a wedding. As he walked forward with what looked like mixed caution and confidence, Albus swore he could hear giggling coming from some of the girls that stood behind them. His warm brown eyes examined the Great Hall for a moment before Professor Lockett placed the hat atop his head, obscuring his vision. By comparison to Leah's sorting, his was similarly brief.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted again, and Enrique eagerly walked down to the Hufflepuff table with a smile. Almost at once, he received a few friendly handshakes from other Hufflepuffs as he made his way over to where Leah was, taking the place beside her. The two of them sat quite comfortably at Hufflepuff, smiling at the rest of their fellow Hufflepuffs.

"Alpert, Evelyn!"

Evelyn Alpert was clearly one of the smaller first years; she was a tiny girl with short strawberry blond hair that was adorned by a single barrette clip that was a bright pink color. Her blue eyes were wide with fear as she walked stiffly up to the hat. Her sorting took much longer when compared to those of Leah and Enrique. While the two of them had comfortably short sortings that took under a minute to resolve, Evelyn sat upon the stool for nearly two and a half minutes.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Even with Slytherin's reputation to consider, Evelyn seemed to hardly care which house she had been sorted into. Pure relief seemed to flood through the small girl as she skittered down to the Slytherin table, her cheeks flushed and wearing a small smile. Had Albus not turned to look at her, he almost would have missed something important, but he picked up something in his peripheral vision. He turned just in time to witness the doors of the Great Hall quietly sliding ajar. A professor appeared, escorting a small boy that wore the robes of the unsorted first years. Albus gave Scorpius a small nudge as the professor returned, finding an empty place at the faculty table while the boy joined their procession.

"Weird," Scorpius whispered to Albus as Professor Lockett called for another exchange student to come to the front. Albus tried to catch a glimpse of the new boy as Georges Belcourt of France was being sorted, but he couldn't see the boy through the crowd of other kids behind him.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Georges seemed quite comfortable with this arrangement as he walked over to the Ravenclaw table. He was certainly more comfortable throughout his sorting than "Boot, Fiona" and a Swedish girl named "Blomgren, Else" were, the two girls that were sorted after him. They were placed in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, respectively.

"Bosler, Tyler!"

Albus recognized this boy almost at once as the freckle-faced kid that had been among that group of boys that they'd encountered on the platform, the same ones that had been harassing Ben on the train. In the light of the hall, Albus could see that he wasn't very big for eleven and he was a bit on the scrawny side. His sorting took a long time too - almost four minutes according to Scorpius, who had been checking the time on his wristwatch.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Though Albus could have imagined it, he swore the Bosler kid's face flooded with relief. The boy's thin legs almost tangled in the legs of the stool as he propelled himself off of the seat, showing no restraint in himself as he ran over to the Gryffindor table. Once he was there, he chose a place beside Else Blomgren and seemed intent on catching her eye.

"Brutus, Hamlin!"

Albus and Scorpius both turned to face Ham, who put on a bold (if somewhat half-hearted) grin before he walked up to Professor Lockett. His height alone seemed to intrigue members of all four houses - Albus supposed they were assuming that he'd be a fair-sized Quidditch player. As he sat almost gingerly upon the stool, he wore a wayward grin with a slightly manic look to it. His brown hair looked somehow more tousled than it had already been, but the hat touched his head for little more than three seconds.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted, and the Gryffindor table began to roar with applause. Ham's grin transformed from the manic and half-terrified one that he wore, to one of genuine glee as he strode over to meet the other Gryffindors. The Gryffindors shouted and cheered with a kind of frenzied ferocity. The older boys at the Gryffindor table were certainly more interested in Ham than they were in scrawny Tyler Bosler, who wore something of a pout as they leaned over one another to clap Ham on the shoulder.

Albus watched a few more sortings that were without incident. He paid them minimal attention, but he didn't know any of the kids that were being sorted and honestly wasn't too invested in their placements. Albus felt a jolt of excitement when Lockett called for "Claudel, Benjamin" to come up, but Albus turned to his right and saw that Ben hadn't moved. Another boy - another Ben - walked up to the front of the hall instead. Once Benjamin Claudel was seated comfortably at the Ravenclaw table, Albus noticed something else unusual. The same professor that had escorted the boy into the hall during Georges Belcourt's sorting was beside Lockett, whispering something to her before returning to his place at the faculty table. Albus didn't think much of it yet, not until a few more kids had been sorted, and then...

"Elkins, Collin!"

Albus recognized the boy almost at once; he was the same boy that had been escorted into the hall during the sorting of Georges Belcourt. He was small and mousy, with short brown hair that was slightly tousled in some places. His small and slightly pointed nose was tattooed by a spray of freckles that flecked across the rest of his pale cheeks like tiny sunspots. Perhaps the most notable thing about him were his bright blue eyes, which seemed solemn and forbidding, almost icy. He looked only somewhat frightened as he walked up to the stool, but seemed almost unerringly calm by the time Professor Lockett had placed the Sorting Hat upon his head.

"SLYTHERIN!" boomed the hat, and Collin Elkins seemed completely indifferent towards the applause he received. He merely continued his walk down to the Slytherin table, making it a point to sit as far away from everyone else as possible.

"There's something I don't like about him," Scorpius said to Albus in a low voice as "Ethel, Estella" was being sorted. Scorpius' own blue eyes were narrowed and held a slightly apprehensive look about them as he glared over at the place where Collin sat.

"He showed up late, but why?" Albus asked, going to pains to keep his voice just as quiet. "Why did that professor get up during the Sorting Ceremony to say something to Lockett? Do you suppose it's possible that he was telling her that kid's name? Maybe there was a mix-up and he was left off of the roll call."

"Impossible," Scorpius whispered back, his brow furrowing in thought. "They can't leave kids off of the list. The list is made by magic, it's made way in advance, and it's double-checked for accuracy. I wouldn't even be surprised if a school as big as Hogwarts had triple-checked their yearly lists. No one's ever been left off of a school list before, not at a major school at least."

Albus thought on it for a while as "Helton, Amber" was placed in Slytherin, much to their delight. Amber was the second American exchange and she was rather pretty by even Scorpius' admission, but Collin didn't seem to care either way. As Albus risked a peek at the Slytherin table - he could say it was under the pretense of looking at Amber, if anyone asked - he noticed that Collin made no attempt to greet her or say hello to her. Even as Albus eyed Collin, he noticed that the boy made no attempts to speak to anyone, nor did he bother to watch the sorting.

"Look at that, twins in the same house," Scorpius whispered appreciatively as "Jansen, Gretchen" strode down from the stool to join her twin sister Angelica at the Ravenclaw table. Once the identical twins were comfortably seated beside one another, Edward Macmillan was the next young soul called on by Lockett to brave the Sorting Hat, and his knees knocked together as he made his way up to the front of the hall.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Scorpius shot Albus one final look that was tinged with apprehension before he walked up to the stool, looking much paler than usual. He gave Professor Lockett a slightly uneasy look before he sat upon the stool, gulping as the brim of the hat fell over his dancing blue eyes. Some of the older kids seemed intrigued by this sorting, perhaps curious as to which house was the right one for the young son of Draco Malfoy. The hat certainly seemed to take a lot of time deliberating about where to place Scorpius, for Albus estimated that it wasn't until well over four minutes had passed that a sound finally breached the silence of the Great Hall.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus felt almost foolish to have expected anything else. He gave Scorpius a small smile as the hat was removed from his head, and Scorpius grinned back. The Slytherin table was wild with applause, perhaps overjoyed that the young Malfoy boy was destined to be in their house, after all. They whooped and whistled, even going so far as to stamp their feet all the way up until he was seated at the table with them. Albus presently noticed that Scorpius had intentionally avoided sitting near Collin Elkins.

In spite of the close proximity between M and P on the alphabet, Albus found himself waiting through several more sortings that he had not anticipated. There was Violet Mannes, Maya Melton, and then a small and somewhat terrified-looking girl called Kara Morrell. She was placed in Hufflepuff but seemed dangerously close to fainting, even once she was seated.

"Murphy, Jamison!"

The smug-looking boy from the platform walked up, giving his curly hair a self-important pat. Albus was pleased to see that he looked terrified once his sorting actually began, watching his face grow paler and paler the longer he sat on the stool. He seemed halfway to tears by the time the hat finally placed him.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus groaned as Jamison strutted over to the Gryffindor table, presently noticing that Ham was rolling his eyes. Naturally, Jamison chose a place beside Tyler Bosler and the two of them began sniggering over something almost immediately. Albus felt sorry for Ham, knowing that he would have to share a bedroom with both of them.

"Nattingley, Julia!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Ngo, Aidan!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Owusu, Bem!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

A wave of dread began to flood through Albus as "Oxford, Savannah" was called up next. Professor Lockett was already finishing up with the Os, meaning that the Ps would surely follow. Albus knew it was almost his turn to be sorted and he still wasn't quite ready for it. There was a horrible possibility that he might end up in a house without any of his new friends, though he recognized there was a chance that Ben, Louis, or Rose might end up in whichever house he was in, for they had yet to be sorted. Yet, as Savannah Oxford skipped down to Slytherin, Albus felt a fear rise in him towards the house, one that was unprecedented. He would have liked to be in the same house as Ham, but two of the bullies from the platform were already in the house. They might be more reluctant to mess with Ham, but Albus wasn't as tall as Ham was. Surely they would make a victim or a punching bag out of him, they seemed like the sort of kids that liked to pick on others...

"Parkinson, Joshua!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus pulled in a deep breath, feeling his body stiffen with fear. Professor Lockett had already reached P, which gave him only minutes left at best. He watched Joshua Parkinson walk to Slytherin with an almost hammy grin on his face, looking more than glad to have been placed in Slytherin. As he watched this boy's joy in being sorted, he felt a disheartening terror begin to enter him.

"Parrish, Stephen!"

Stephen Parrish certainly looked tougher than Albus, and it wasn't just his scowl. His golden-brown hair was short-cropped and he had the build of a farm boy, looking almost out of place in the crisp Hogwarts uniform. Even though his appearance gave Albus the faintest idea that he was a fairly tough kid, he still screwed his eyes shut when the hat was placed upon his head. Albus' stomach ached with apprehension as Stephen's sorting seemed to drag on, his insides feeling as though they were knotting together until...

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Potter, Albus!"

If Albus' lungs had not felt as though the air had been sucked out of them in that very moment, he might have groaned. His legs felt leaden as he walked up to the front of the hall as whispers erupted around him, whispers that mentioned Albus' father by name. Harry Potter's youngest son was finally being sorted and the student body was almost callously unaware of the fear that petrified Albus Severus Potter as the sorting hat fell over his frightened blue eyes. The last glimpse of the Great Hall that Albus got, was one of students craning forward to get a good look at him. He barely had enough time to register James in a backdrop of Gryffindors, waggling a rubber snake at Albus while Freddie and Blaine laughed. But James' taunt was obscured a mere moment later by pure darkness as he was drawn into the hat.

 _"Another Potter,"_ an ancient voice echoed through the dark recesses of Albus' mind. _"Your brother was an easy enough sorting, he's a Gryffindor through and through. But you already remind me of your father, Mr. Potter. He was a challenge to sort and I can see that challenge presented once more, in you."_

 _"My dad was hard to sort?"_ Albus thought to himself, bewildered. Harry had never exactly shared the details of his own sorting. All Albus knew about his father's experiences with the hat was that the hat was willing to take one's choice into the matter. It put Albus at ease somewhat to know that he wasn't completely unlike his father in this regard.

 _"He had the right traits to suit either Gryffindor or Slytherin,"_ the hat explained. _"You seem to be much the same. You are clearly intelligent, there's no question about that, but you lack the passion for learning. You are a kind and fair boy, not a bad choice for Hufflepuff, but I don't feel like you'd unlock your full potential there. The boy before you definitely would benefit from the house of the kind, but would you? I don't know if the house could teach you anything more..."_

 _"My father said you take choice into account,"_ Albus thought back, realizing that the hat could hear him. _"Is that true?"_

 _"It's certainly true, Mr. Potter, though I try to everyone placed in a house that truly suits them,"_ the hat confirmed. _"Some people just don't belong in a house, no matter how much they may want to be there. I'm usually able to persuade them to go with my decision, but occasionally I will get someone who is particularly disagreeable on the matter. How would you like Gryffindor, Mr. Potter? I think I can see something of a bright future for you in that house. You are unquestionably brave and adventurous, I can see it now. Gryffindor would be the perfect place to unlock this bravery of yours..."_

 _"No!"_ Albus thought, though he was a bit surprised by his conviction a moment later.

 _"No?"_ the hat asked, sounding perplexed. _"I could see your fear of Slytherin, Mr. Potter. I was certain that Gryffindor would be what you so desired. If you are a Gryffindor, you'll prove your brother wrong, while being in a house that will bring you out of your shell. Yes, Gryffindor would definitely be an asset to your growth, Mr. Potter. Why do you refuse it?"_

 _"I don't want to be a Gryffindor,"_ Albus thought back blankly, trying to come up with an excuse. _"I don't want to be in the same house as Jamison and Tyler, they're gits. Put me in a different house, where I don't have to share a room with them."_

 _"But one of your friends is in Gryffindor, Mr. Potter,"_ the Sorting Hat pointed out. _"Perhaps your fear of the bullies is all the more reason to place you in Gryffindor, so you can grow brave enough to stand up to them. Perhaps Gryffindor will make you more assertive, rather than passive."_

 _"I don't know, I suppose that I could learn to have a passion for learning if you put me in Ravenclaw,"_ Albus reasoned, though he didn't feel particularly inclined towards Ravenclaw. _"I mean, anything's possible, right? Maybe you were wrong about me and Hufflepuff, maybe I can learn a thing or two from it yet! I mean, perhaps they can teach me about loving people and fairness and all of that stuff."_

 _"Are you actively avoiding Gryffindor?"_ the Sorting Hat asked him. _"I see, that is precisely what you are doing. Very well, Mr. Potter, you leave me no choice. I want you to tell me which house you have a preference to. Tell me what house you'd like to join."_

As Albus considered the words of the Sorting Hat, he thought about his ride on the way to Hogwarts. He thought about his three new friends - Ham, who had been sitting with Aidan before the hat fell over Albus' eyes; Ben, who stood alone in the group of unsorted kids, apprehensive and frightened; Scorpius, who sat at the Slytherin table with the most hopeful expression on his face. He thought of Rose, who had been watching the Sorting with some fascination as Albus had been called up for his sorting. He thought of James, who was probably waiting with an arrogant smirk on his face, certain in his belief that Albus would be a Gryffindor like the rest of the family. He thought of Lily, who was probably sulking in her bedroom at home, missing both of her brothers. He thought of his parents, who were probably waiting for a letter from the school that informed them that James had blown up the owlery or something else while at school.

Albus' first thought was of conceding with the hat and joining the ranks of Gryffindor, but he felt obliquely opposed to the idea. He was rather fond of Ham, but he thought it would be quite unwise to choose a bedroom with two new schoolyard enemies, as opposed to perhaps only one, maybe none at all. His second thought was a bit more profound, but he had a fleeting sense that joining Slytherin wouldn't be so bad. It would wipe that cocky look right off of James' face if he was _actually_ sorted in Slytherin, and that alone might make it worthwhile. But his third thought was certainly more abstract: he wondered if _all_ of the other children had actually chosen their own houses, or if they had directed the Sorting Hat to come to the conclusion they liked. After all, the Bosler kid looked positively relieved to be in Gryffindor - might his reaction have been the same if he ended up anywhere else?

Albus wasn't sure if that idea had any basis in fact to it, but another thought had seized him. His father had told him that you could choose, if you really pressed the hat about it. He supposed that if he pressed the hat put him in any house that wasn't Gryffindor, the hat would have to comply. His final thought before he returned to conferring with the hat, was that perhaps it might be a _good_ thing to be the first Potter in Slytherin, not a bad one.

 _"Alright, you know where to place me,"_ Albus thought back tentatively. He knew that the hat didn't have to ask him which house he had chosen - the hat could understand his every thought and decision at the moment.

"SLYTHERIN!"

There was a timid silence before the storm, but a great sound erupted from the Slytherin table a moment later. The Slytherins were wild with applause as a great sound emanated directly from their table - a cavalcade of applause, a whirlwind of whistles, a melody of cheers, and the low and thunderous rumble of stamping feet. It was almost immediately clear to Albus (as Lockett removed the Sorting Hat from his head) that it was a great honor for Slytherin to have gained a child of Harry Potter. The Gryffindor table sat in a stunned near-silence as Albus Severus Potter walked down to the Slytherin table. Scorpius raced at him from the pack just short of the long table, slinging his arms around Albus in an excitable sort of hug. Although somewhat taken aback, Albus returned the gesture to his new friend.

"You did it!" Scorpius cheered amidst Slytherin applause as the two of them headed over to the other new Slytherins. "Trust me Albus, you're going to love Slytherin, you're going to have so much fun here."

"Potter!" a boy cried happily before he extended his hand out towards Albus, wearing an amiable grin. "Potter in the same house as me! What'll my mum think of this?!"

Albus faintly recognized the boy from earlier on in the Sorting Ceremony. The boy was Bem Owusu, one of their new housemates. His skin was a light tawny-brown color and his short dark hair curled tightly into small helixes. His eyes had an intriguing look to them: hazel and lit with a distinct sparkle of kindness. Perhaps it was Albus' imagination, but the Slytherin table looked as though it were full of friendly faces, though Collin still refused to look at anybody. As Albus took a seat between Scorpius and Bem, several of his new housemates hastened to shake his hand and greet him as they waited for the next sorting.

"Ramsay, Benjamin!"

Ben looked extremely small as he walked up to the Great Hall, shaking like a withered leaf that had somehow clung to the tree long into the winter season. He risked a glance over towards Albus and Scorpius before he climbed onto the stool, his face flushed as he pulled himself up onto it. The hat fell over his head and so began perhaps the longest silence that the Great Hall had seen in many years. It was unforeseen that such a small boy could prolong the Sorting Ceremony so indefinitely. Scorpius kept anxiously checking his wristwatch and whispering the time to Albus.

"Seven minutes and thirty-eight seconds," he whispered in awe to Albus as he tried to determine what was going on by examining Ben's expression. Little Ben looked almost defiant under the hat, as though some tumultuous debate was taking place within the depths of his mind. To Albus, it seemed that the hat was insistent on placing Ben somewhere, but he was giving the hat a run for its money. It was a bit surprising to Albus - just by looking at the small and timid boy, one would assume that he didn't have much fight in him.

"Nine minutes and two seconds," Scorpius whispered, though it felt like half an hour had passed instead of mere minutes. Only seconds later, the silence broke.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. If Albus was not mistaken, the Sorting Hat's shout sounded somewhat resigned and Albus grinned, assuming that Ben had won the battle. Indeed, Ben looked triumphant as he walked down to the Hufflepuff table with a small smile on his face. Most of the Great Hall was relieved that Ben's sorting had concluded, but Albus could see that shock had registered on the faces of some of the faculty. Perhaps the Hufflepuffs seemed to understand that Ben Ramsay had put up a terrible fight to get into their house, but they seemed to be cheering especially loud as he joined them.

The last few sortings seemed to fly by when compared to Ben's, which far exceeded the duration of any other sorting that night. Three more kids joined Albus and his new housemates at the Slytherin table and the final sorting was of "Zucker, Bartholomew" - the big blond bully that had accompanied Jamison and Tyler. He was placed in Gryffindor as well, but Albus was glad that Ham was not completely alone. He was presently chatting to Aidan as Bartholomew walked over to join the Gryffindors, both of them caught up in a passionate discussion of some sort.

The headmaster rose from his seat at the faculty table and peered at each of the four tables, which took notice at once and fell silent. Though he looked somewhat older than Professor Lockett, it was easily apparent that he was fairly young for his position. In fact, Albus noticed that some of the older Slytherin girls were whispering and giggling to one another as he began to speak.

"Welcome first years," he began with a wickedly charming smile and a smooth Scottish accent. "Welcome back to those of you that are returning to us. I am your new headmaster, Gideon Greyjay. That was a rather interesting Sorting Ceremony, if I do say so myself. On that note, I would like to make some quick announcements. In response to last year's incident on the grand staircase, Mr. Filch has decided to retire with his cat. It has been very difficult to find someone to replace him, but we believe that we may have found someone to fill the position. I'd like you all to welcome our new caretaker, Mr. Caradoc Steele, as well as his own cat, Burton!"

The Great Hall turned to see the new caretaker, a man with steel-grey hair that had been chopped into a vicious-looking crew cut. His arms were ropy with muscle and he looked distinctly unfriendly, but Albus heard a small gasp from Scorpius' direction as a thin and dusty-colored cat appeared beside him.

"We might as well have a bite to eat before we proceed with the announcements," Professor Greyjay quipped with a playful smile. "I know all too well that your attention will be diverted if you're hungry. Let the feast begin!"

There were a few cheers as each of the four tables filled with food. Albus was more delighted than surprised, immediately piling some roast chicken on his plate as the other Slytherins began to fix themselves a helping of the warm food. As Albus looked down the table, he noticed that there were some rather exotic dishes available for consumption, perhaps to placate the new transfer students. One of the new transfers sat across from him, a Japanese boy by the name of Toshiro Takara.

"Food's better than my mum's," another boy remarked loudly - Albus recognized this boy as Joshua Parkinson. Joshua was smaller than Albus too, a lanky blond boy with round glasses and a kind of amiable cheerfulness to him. He was presently filling a bowl with fresh tomato soup, giving them a wily sort of grin that matched the impish gleam in his blue eyes.

"It's nice to meet you," Albus said as he turned to Toshiro, who sat directly across from him. Toshiro smiled warmly as he patted down his slightly ruffled black hair, making it neat and straight once again. His warm brown eyes studied the spread of food that lay before them, looking curious and cautious all at once. He offered his hand out to Albus, who took it and gave it a shake. His grip was gentle, almost hesitant in nature.

"It's nice to meet you too," Toshiro replied meekly, his voice marked by a distinct Japanese accent. "I'm Toshiro. You're...Albus?"

"Right," Albus affirmed as he added some brussels sprouts to his plate. Most of them were too hungry from their long train ride to converse openly, save for Josh, who chattered away to them like a tree full of birds. By the time desserts came around, everyone's spirits had raised exponentially. There was a tepid discussion of their new classes, followed by a more enthusiastic bout of Quidditch banter. Albus was so full of warm dinner food that he had little room for anything else in his stomach, though he did enjoy a bit of trifle before all of the desserts disappeared.

"I see that we've all had our fill of food," Professor Greyjay called out from the head of the Great Hall, giving them a grin that was both wry and playful. "Now that we've finished up dinner and dessert, Professor Lockett and I will remind you all of some of our rules. Firstly, I would like to remind all students that yes, the Forbidden Forest is _still_ forbidden to all students. I know many of you are greatly curious about our forest, but it is known as the Forbidden Forest for _very_ good reasons."

He shot a glance towards Gryffindor, one that Albus could only assume to be directed at James and his friends.

"Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products are not to be used to disrupt or evade class," Professor Lockett continued, the transition between Greyjay and herself so smooth that Albus could only assume that the two adults were well-accustomed to working together. "Professor Greyjay and myself do not mind if you wish to use a bit of the Nosebleed Nougat to skimp on Quidditch practices, or use a Puking Pastille to get out of a halfhearted date. However, anyone found using these products for ill purpose or to skip classes will be punished in a way that best befits their actions."

"I'd also like to give our newcomers a little heads-up about our resident poltergeist, Peeves," Professor Greyjay chuckled. "I'm quite fond of him, but I know he does enjoy causing chaos and trouble around the castle. Do not be alarmed if he begins throwing chalk at you, or tripping you up on the stairs."

"That being said," Professor Lockett added with a slight smile, "I think it is time for the school's song. For those of you that do not know the words, you are free to remain silent this time around, although we encourage everyone to participate. The words will be cast in the air above the faculty table for your viewing. Pick a tune and join in."

Professor Lockett waved her wand and the air over the teachers' table was lit by a series of brightly-colored words. She held her wand like a baton and gave a wave, and the whole school began to sing:

 _"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy warty Hogwarts,_

 _Teach us something please,_

 _Whether we be old and bald,_

 _Or young with scabby knees,_

 _Our heads could do with filling,_

 _With some interesting stuff,_

 _For now they're bare and full of air,_

 _Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

 _So teach us things worth knowing,_

 _Bring back what we've forgot,_

 _Just do your best, we'll do the rest_

 _And learn until our brains all rot!"_

Albus and some of the other first years took part in the singing of the school song to the best of their abilities. Albus presently noticed that everyone was singing the song in different styles and tunes. Professor Greyjay seemed to be enjoying the song as he waited patiently for them to finish. James and Blaine were the very last to finish, having given the school song a slow opera rendition. Once they had finished, both of them did a funny bow and Professor Greyjay had the grace to give them a standing ovation before he turned to Professor Lockett.

"Timetables will be handed out on Monday morning, so try not to miss breakfast," Professor Lockett advised them, peering around at each of the four tables. "As usual, classes will begin that same day. To our new first years, I would like to personally wish you a wonderful first weekend at our school, before we bury you in homework. Prefects, please lead your new first years to your common rooms. Goodnight, students of Hogwarts!"

"Slytherin first years, follow me!" an older boy called out from the center of the aisle. "My name is Jared, and I will be leading you to the common room as soon as we're all here!"

His voice was more authoritative than his appearance, for he was not the tallest among the fifth years. He pushed his wavy black hair out of his eyes and smiled merrily at them before he began to shepherd the first years in the direction of the exit. They were joined a moment later by a blond girl with her hair in a ponytail, one that also wore a prefect's badge. She took her place at the end of their procession, as though to keep an eye out for any stragglers.

The mass of students began to diverge once they reached the Entrance Hall, with some of the groups beginning to march up the marble staircase as others trooped into corridors that fed into other parts of the castle. Albus and Scorpius trailed along at the tail end of a procession that crossed to the left side of the Entrance Hall, beginning the descent into the school's dungeons. They marched down several sets of stairs as they wound deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the castle, making their way through dark corridors that twisted and turned before coming to a stop in the middle of a corridor.

They had stopped just short of a patch of empty stone wall that lay beyond a few ancient, dusty cabinets. At a glance, it was indistinguishable and unremarkable when compared to the rest of the wall, but Albus noticed upon closer inspection that there was a small carving of a snake in the centre of the wall. Had a student put it there? Unlikely, Albus thought, because the indentation was shaped almost too perfectly. Jared tapped the tip of the snake's tail with his wand.

 _"Asp,"_ the young prefect said in a low, smooth voice. For Albus, this seemed an impossibly easy first password - it was what his initials spelled out. The carving of the snake began to glow green and that glow spread from the tail to the head of the snake. Once the snake was fully illuminated, there was a small hissing sound and the stone wall began to slide open.

"My dad never mentioned anything about that," Josh gasped, pushing his glasses more securely onto the bridge of his nose. "Has it changed since he's been here?"

"A lot of the school had to be rebuilt once the Second Wizarding War concluded," Jared replied back sagely, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "I reckon the school has even more secrets now than it ever did."

Jared led them down a stairway that the wall had concealed, with the female prefect still at the rear of their group to make sure nobody was lost. Albus let out a small gasp as the wall closed in behind her. They were trapped in pure darkness for only a moment before the passageway was lit by a cool green light that clearly illuminated each of them. The girl prefect's arms were crossed and she wore a proud look.

"It's a security measure," she explained to them. "Only current Slytherin students and the teachers can see the green light. To anyone other than a Slytherin that has been recognized by the school, it will be a dark corridor that they'll be stuck in until someone else discovers them. It's to prevent dormitory invasions, but it also comes in handy during times of war."

"Incredible, isn't it?" Scorpius whispered to Albus, his dancing blue eyes looking greenish in the light as he turned to Albus. Albus nodded back enthusiastically; so far, the Slytherin common room seemed like a brilliant place and he had yet to step foot inside of it. They carefully followed Jared down a turn in the staircase, trotting down the steps until they came to a door with the design of a large snake on it. The snake's eyes glowed, a predatory yellow that cut through the dim green light as they approached it. A jet of air hit them, emitting a remarkable sound that made it seem as though a rather large snake was hissing at them. There was a small pause where none of them said anything, then the door began to swing open.

"Another defensive measure right there, not unlike the Thief's Downfall at Gringotts Bank," Jared explained proudly, his chest puffed out somewhat. "That gust of wind washes away any kind of concealments or enchantments that one might use to sneak into the Slytherin dormitory. I'd say we're the best defended house in Hogwarts. Ah, in we go!"

Albus gasped for the umpteenth time that night. The Slytherin common room looked remarkably like a dungeon (to be fair, he recognized that it _was_ in a dungeon) but it was very elegant and well-decorated. Although it was located beneath the Great Lake, it wasn't even remotely leaky. They passed a notice board of sorts that had an array of messages neatly tacked onto it - anything from welcoming notices, to old handmade posters that advertised anything from a homework club, to a sale in the wizarding village of Honeydukes that weekend. They trooped across a lush green rug with elegant serpentine designs on it in silver. All of the rugs in the common room bore designs and colors that were befitting of Slytherin house. Albus could see these designs clearly, for it was a very well-illuminated room. An array of lamps cast off a bright but slightly greenish glow, revealing several dark oak tables for study, accompanied by matching chairs.

There was a dark stone fireplace on one end of the room, from which came the merry glow of a fresh fire and the sound of crackling wood. The fireplace was flanked by an array of several black and green leather sofas, some of which held students that were chatting peacefully to one another as the first years entered their common room. There was a pair of girls looking over their summer assignments together on one sofa, while another held an interesting-looking group of older boys that were grinning impishly as they looked over some fireworks. Albus couldn't help but notice one of the boys in particular; he couldn't have been older than fourteen or fifteen, but he was incredibly tall and had snowy-white hair.

Albus joined a small group of other children that split from the main group to look through the windows, jostling for a spot between Evelyn and Toshiro. The windows in the Slytherin dungeon peered out into the lake, offering a surprisingly clear view of what lurked beneath the water. Albus suspected that magic was definitely at play here, some magic that made the windows strong enough to withstand the tremendous pressure of the lake. A small school of fish flashed by the windows as Albus and the other first years watched with wide eyes.

They rejoined the main group and walked past a wooden door that had been painted emerald, with snakes crossing through it that bore names. Jared began to explain that this door led to the reading room and the names within the serpents that coiled around the door were the names of all of the Slytherins that were presently in their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. There was another open pathway that Jared pointed out a moment later, one that made every single first year stop dead in their tracks. Over this passageway was a gargantuan skull, one that looked rather like a snake's.

"Is that a _real_ skull?" Evelyn asked, trembling a bit as she exchanged a nervous glance with Phoebe Warner, another first year girl.

"It sure is," Jared replied with a wily grin. "That's a basilisk skull. If I dare say, they did redecorate Slytherin rather well, wouldn't you agree? The fangs attached on there are fake, however. I suppose the professors didn't want students dying every time someone thought they could rip one off and give their enemies a jab."

Evelyn's eyes widened with fright, but Josh seemed to be eyeing the basilisk head appreciatively as they passed beneath the giant skull. There was a fork in the stone tunnel up ahead; the girl prefect walked over to where Jared stood.

"On we go," Jared said brightly. "Girls, follow Jenna Pederson here, she'll lead you down the path on the right. Boys, follow me to the left!"

They waited for Jenna and the first year girls to separate themselves from the group before they trooped down the path on the right before they followed Jared down the path on the left. He led them down a staircase before they came to a hall, pausing at the door on the very end.

"Here we are," Jared announced, flicking his wand as they stepped inside of the room. The lights in their new room came on, revealing six beds arranged with three on each side. At the other end of the room, centered between them, was a large window that opened up into the lake.

"Wow!" a voice gasped, and Albus guessed it was Josh.

"It's a good room," Jared explained happily. "You'll probably get a visit from the giant squid every so often down here. It's always pretty breezy and cool down here, so you won't have to worry about the heat, but I'd advise you invest in another blanket or two if the cold bothers you. Your beds have been predetermined by whichever one your trunk's in front of, and all non-avian pets have been brought down here too. Have an excellent first night and come find me if you need any help!"

Jared left and the door swung shut behind him with a quaint creak. Albus found his bed on the right-hand side, noticing that his trunk was placed before the bed in the middle. He was pleased to notice that Scorpius had the bed on his left, while the bed on his right - closest to the window into the lake - would be occupied by the quiet boy, Collin. The room was more comfy than Albus had imagined, with ample space for all of the boys to put their belongings. There was space at his bedside table for his ferret's cage and he peered inside to see Merlin sleeping comfortably.

"Erasmus!" Scorpius cried as a black blur pounced off of his bed and into his arms. There was a big black tomcat there, with alert yellow eyes that fixed on the floor near Bem's bed, where a Siamese mix was prowling around. Bem wore a broad grin as Scorpius' cat began to approach his own.

"My cat, Minnie," Bem chirped amiably. "She's taken a liking to your Erasmus."

The two cats began to bat at one another playfully as the boys changed into their pajamas. Albus was surprised to see that his plain Hogwarts uniforms were bedecked in green and silver to reflect his new house. He quickly refilled Merlin's water dish and added some dry food pellets before changing out of his robes, putting on a set of blue pinstriped pajamas that his mother had recently bought him. If the pajamas of his new roommates were any indication of their personalities, Albus was part of a very diverse group this year. Bem kept it simple with a black t-shirt and orange shorts, while Scorpius changed into a set of green pajamas that looked as though they were made of silk. Toshiro - on the other hand - wore very brightly colored _Pokémon_ pajamas, while Josh's were blue with a gingham pattern.

"That's cool, I like Pokémon," Josh remarked brightly as he placed his glasses onto his bedside table. "My dad won't let me play it, but my mum lets me have at it when he's not home."

There was a small, slightly awkward pause before Bem yawned. Perhaps his yawn was contagious, but Albus suddenly felt very tired. As he crawled between his new covers, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of year he was going to have at Hogwarts. He was thinking too deeply to sleep at first, listening to soft snores of Bem or peering out the window into the lake, scrutinizing the depths of it before his eyelids seemed to grow too heavy all at once and he fell fast asleep.


End file.
